Listen to the latest soundscapes from the Anthropology of Sound class 2017. You can also find these great soundscapes organized by location in our many playlists. Happy listening!

Anthropology of Sound Class of 2017

"In the Kitchen" was made by Kirk McNally from the class of 2015, who was inspired by the Kitchen in the second floor of the Grand Hotel in Old Town.

In The Kitchen

"Ford in the Shop Museum Display" was made by Jade Robichaud from the class of 2016, who was inspired by the Model T Ford in the Auto Shop Diorama in Old Town near Chinatown. He says "When approaching this soundscape, I focused on sounds both inside and outside the shop. The car, tools being used, music being played in the background, the mechanic walking about his shop, and the city going on with his daily routine. As points the sound is pleasant in nature while at other points it is almost too loud and hard to listen to."

Anth 303 

Ford in the Shop Museum Display

“Tea Travel” by Kelsey Anderson and Sydney Brown from the class of 2016. They were inspired by the tea set on display near the Train Station in Old Town. They say "Tea travel is a composition of cultural and historical context of teas journey from its origins straight to your cup. From the field it was grown to the boats docking in North America, tea becomes a traveler of sea and land. From every slurp of tea, a feeling of warmth and comfort can be experienced in all cultures."

Tea Travel

“The Royal Canadian Navy: War and Changing Ecosystems”” by Lauren Tanner from the class of 2016. She was inspired by the Navy Exhibit surrounding the  HMS Discovery in the Becoming BC Exhibit. She says "My soundscape composition is focused on the history of the Canadian Navy, and its effect on our country's natural and social environment. I have taken a special interest in the BC Navy's effect on the West Coast. My goal in this composition is to create a sense of natural peacefulness and harmony, which transitions into chaos and destruction."

The Royal Canadian Navy: War and Changing Ecosystems”

“Strange Sounds From Within the Gold Mine” by Craig Penner and Kirk Borger“ from the class of 2015. They were inspired by the Mine exhibit in the Industry Exhibit.

Kirk R Borger's Album

Strange Sounds From Within the Gold Mine

“Layers of Time” was made by Jason Sanche from the class of 2017. He was inspired by the large wooden clock mounted above the entrance way near the 1980's and 1990's display case in Century Hall. He says "'Layers of Time' is an exploration of how clock time, perceptual time and nature-time weave together. The metered clock time layer is composed of the sound of a boar-scarer repeated and layered at different frequencies to form rhythms, threaded into a narrative of a 3-year-old as concepts of time begin to mix into her mind, and then knotted with nature-time sounds of wind chimes, a heartbeat, and water drops. It is above all the sonic texture of a time in the life of the author."

Layers Of Time

“Memories Of An Office” was made by Adam Domville from the class of 2017. He was inspired by the Office diorama, on the second floor of the Grand Hotel in Old Town. He says "Upstairs in the Grand Hotel in Old Town there's an abandoned office that was once full of activity. Listen carefully and you will hear sounds made by the people who worked there 100 years ago; impressions of past lives and old memories. Ghosts of former office employees float through the room and go about their business."

Memories Of An Office

“Telling Time” was made by Rhianna Bella from the class of 2017. She was inspired by the Clocks and Watchmakers display on the second floor of the Grand Hotel in Old Town. She says "This soundscape is about the impact of time, and how it can serve as a reminder for us. Time is studied in both cultural and social contexts, and there is something special about being transported to another time or place through music."

Telling Time

“Industrial Augury” was made by Cole Burns from the class of 2017. He was inspired by the Livery Steel and Ironwork Diorama, to the left of the Grand Hotel in Old Town. He says, "Descend into the chaos of a prophetic vision. Wandering through the moss and between dystopian schisms."

Industrial Augury

“Rainy Mood in Chinatown” was made by Leanna McKnight from the class of 2017. She was inspired by the Chinatown diorama in Old Town. She says, "As you peer inside the kitchen window in Chinatown's gloomy cobblestone alleyway, you will hear the clatter of glasses, chopping of vegetables and bubbling of oil as a group of hungry men chatter away. Amidst the bustling kitchen, a cheerful verse of the erhu melodically strums as a gentle rainfall hums in the background with the slight pitter-patter of droplets trickling off the window sill."

Rainy Mood in Chinatown

“The Cure for a Long Day” was made by Ross Sutherland from the class of 2017. He was inspired by the Saloon diorama on the first floor of the Grand Hotel in Old Town. He says, "The ambient noise of a bar on a rainy evening. Rain on the windows, companionship, cards, and smoking. Follow the sound from left to right as the imaginary subject shakes off the rain, acquires a drink, and joins a friend for an evening of gambling."

The Cure for a Long Day

“Victoriana” by Jemma Stoppard from the class of 2017. She was inspired by the stairwell and the animal heads mounted there in the Grand Hotel in Old Town. She says, "This soundscape is an interpretation of the stairwell through the medium of sound. In its interpretation it attempts to give new life to old heads."

Victoriana

“Dormant Delights” by Amy Anderson from the class of 2017. She was inspired by the Kitchen diorama on the second floor of the Grand Hotel in Old Town. She says, "This soundscape was created for (and about) the woman who lives in this kitchen. Special thanks to Oona Vaughn for lending her voice."

Dormant Delights

“A Bike Ride by the Sea” by Katherine Gillis from the class of 2017. She was inspired by the bike resting on the staircase over Chinatown in Old Town. She says, "My soundscape is inspired by an old-style bicycle that I chose to work with from the Royal BC museum. It is composed of several different sound clips made by my own bicycle to simulate a bike ride by the sea. The background sound of the ocean is really a distorted version of the trickling water from the university's waterfall, and the end of the sound clip has a bicycle clip played in reverse to represent the movement of going back in time, to a time when the style of bicycle that the soundscape is based off of would have existed."

A Bike Ride by the Sea

“Floating” by Katie McPherson from the class of 2017. She was inspired by the Japanese glass fishing buoy across from the cannery diorama in the Industry exhibit. She says, "The inspiration for this soundscape came from an old boating float made from blown glass wrapped with rope. In the soundscape I choose to bring out the sounds of water, rope tying it together with a methodic bass line to create a distorted track that invokes a mellow interpretation of what it could be like floating along the water."

Floating

“Lost in Space” by Laura Steele and Georgia Pike from the class of 2017. They were inspired by the experiences of visually-impaired individuals and the cityscape of Old Town. They say, "'Lost in Space' is designed to transport its listener into the mind of a blind person. We used several different everyday objects to create an overlapping loop of what a person may hear in their travels around the city. In general, people who are blind or visually impaired tend to be more in tune with their other senses, including sound. Our intention with 'Lost in Space' is to emphasize the importance sound and the important role sound plays when interacting with the world."

Lost In Space

“Getting Canned” by Madison Hadfield from the class of 2017. She was inspired by the salmon cleaning table in the cannery diorama in the Industry exhibit. She says, "This is a short sound piece following the journey of a salmon getting caught, canned, and sold. From the perspective of the salmon we travel from the Salish Sea, through the canning process, and into a local general store where the can of smoked salmon is finally opened."

Getting Canned

“Damp Mine” by Mankinn Gee from the class of 2017. He was inspired by the mine in the Industry exhibit. He says, "A walk through a damp mine. You find something that shouldn't be there."

Damp Mine

“I’m Just Trying to Find the Washroom” by Matthew Nicklen from the class of 2017. He was inspired by the beer display on the second floor of the Grand Hotel in Old Town. He says, "This piece chronicles the evening of a person or group of friends attempting to find the washroom as they get increasingly more intoxicated. On their way, they drop cups, get accosted by fellow patrons, and are distracted by bright lights and sudden noises. Their journey is fruitless, however, as they eventually give up and exit the saloon."

I’m Just Trying to Find the Washroom

“Men at Work” by Megan Macdonald and Navjot Sidhu from the class of 2017. They were inspired by the office diorama on the second floor of the Grand Hotel in Old Town. They say, "A glimpse into the sonic world of an importer, hard at work in an office in the early 1890’s."

Men at Work

“Untitled” by Rachel Glick from the class of 2017. She was inspired by the wooden floor in the Becoming BC exhibit. She says, "Your dreams of becoming a forest-dwelling hermit come true. It's pouring outside, so light a fire and put on a record."

Untitled

“Ascending Makeshift Mountain” by Reed Langen from the class of 2017. He was inspired by the mountain portage diorama in the fur trade exhibit. He says, "Imitating nature only limits nature according to human nature. The imagination acts as you like it. A perception of nature is dubious; it is beyond our control, incessantly shifting from our influence, and its own. 'Ascending Makeshift Mountain' is a reflection of such an obscure paradoxical relationship."

Ascending Makeshift Mountain

“The Industrial Voice” by Nathan Campbell, Rob Cowley, and Marj Parent from the class of 2017. They were inspired by the mine diorama in the Industry exhibit. They say, "A variety of recordings of industrial equipment; compiled, arranged, and lightly processed in order to construct an ambiguous soundscape symbolic of labour in North America. This soundscape represents the "voice of industry": the shared characteristics of industrial sounds throughout history and their ubiquity in industrial spaces."

The Industrial Voice

“Vancouver’s Globe” by Nathan Daigle from the class of 2017. He was inspired by the globe in the interior of the HMS Discovery in the Explorers exhibit. He says, "Vancouver’s Globe is a soundscape for the Royal BC Museum. The year is 1794. The exhibit sets the stage in Captain George Vancouver and senior staff’s cramped quarters on the H.M.S. Discovery. The soundscape begins outside of the docked Discovery. The weather is gloomy and Sea Lions are heard near by. A crew member enters the quarters, sits down, and spins the globe several times. A haunting melody creeps into the soundscape, representative of things to come."

Vancouver's Globe

Welcome to the Official Royal BC Museum Soundscape Soundcould page! Here you can use your personal devices to listen to the creative soundscapes made by students from the Anthropology of Sound class, taught by Dr. Alexandrine Boudreault-Fournier, offered by the University of Victoria, as you explore the museum. The soundscapes are grouped into playlists based on the different areas of the permanent exhibits. You can find the particular places and objects that inspired these soundscapes by looking at the photos and exploring the museum. You can also listen on the RBCM's Learning Portal. After each year, new soundscapes will be added to the list, so be sure to come back and listen!

Royal BC Museum Soundscapes

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